High School Prom Marks End of an Era

THERE were tears in some eyes as Tiverton High School held it’s annual prom - marking the end of an era for year 11 students.

Limousines, vintage cars, and even a juggernaut, brought the glamorously dressed students to the event held at the Tiverton Hotel on June 26.

Former head girl, Alice Mitchell said: “The prom is like the end of a chapter to our lives. It’s quite emotional, they’ll probably be some tears.

“Most people now are going off to college, some people have jobs or apprenticeships. I’d like to thank all the teachers of the school for all their hard work and getting the best out us in our GCSEs.”

Former head boy, Tom Reed, added: “We’ve all really been looking forward to this and having a good night. It will be the last time we see everyone here together having fun, so it’ll be quite emotional.

“I think it’ll be easy to keep in touch with the ones I want to, so it’ll still be nice to talk to each other.”

Inside the hotel, there was a chance to have a professional photo taken by Andrew Lockyer, and DJ Micky Land played music from 7.30pm until midnight.

It was also a special occasion for headteacher Andrew Lovett, who joined the school in 2004 - the same time as the students at the prom who leave this year. He added: “Whereas results day is a signing off of the students academic achievements, the prom signs off the maturity students have developed over the last five years. It’s about Tiverton High School as a community, rather than a set of exam results.

“One of the nice things about high school is that lots of people come back, and we are always on the lookout for people coming back and talking to the students about what they’ve done, and what they’ve achieved, so I would like to think that everyone is welcome back -  despite them leaving.”

The highlight of the night was the crowning of the prom king and queen. Each student cast a vote for who they’d like to see crowned as king and queen, then head, Andrew Lovett read out the results.

Prom King, Samuel Butler said it was completely unexpected: “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. I’m really happy, it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s a great end to a school career.

His thoughts were echoed by the Prom Queen, Lana Sargent: “I don’t have a clue why they voted for me, it’s shocking. I wasn’t expecting this at all. My boyfriend has bought me a J20 to celebrate with.”

Following the coronation, the king and queen shared a dance together, and there were some teary eyes from fellow students.